Knox man accused of photographing woman in restroom

A Knox County man with a history of Peeping Tom convictions is now accused of secretly photographing a woman inside a restaurant restroom.

James Bradley Josey III, 22, of Adair Drive has been indicted on charges of observation without consent, unlawful photographing and two counts of tampering with evidence in connection with a February incident.

According to court records, a woman was in a stall in the women's restroom at the Pizza Inn on Clinton Highway on Feb. 9 at 1:34 p.m.

"She caught something out of the corner of her eye and looked up," Knoxville Police Department Officer Jeffery Green wrote in a warrant. "(The woman) stated that she saw (a man) looking over the top of the stall, looking at her as she was using the restroom."

The woman yelled out, and the suspect fled to the men's restroom, according to the warrant.

The woman alerted her boyfriend, who then followed the suspect into the men's room and confronted him, Green wrote.

The boyfriend refused to allow the suspect, later identified as Josey, to leave while police were en route, according to the warrant.

An indictment issued by a Knox County grand jury last week alleges Josey took photographs of of the woman as she was using the restroom. He is accused in the indictment of taking steps to delete the photographs before police arrived.

It's not clear from court records whether he successfully deleted the photographs, how long he had been peeping at women in the Pizza Inn restroom and if authorities believe there may have been additional victims unaware of his presence.

This isn't the first time Josey has been accused of being a Peeping Tom.

In July 2011, Josey sneaked into a battered women's shelter at the YWCA on Clinch Avenue via an unlocked door, "low crawled" past the front desk and slipped inside a woman's apartment. The woman, who was not identified in a warrant, was showering. Josey later admitted using an iPhone to film the woman in the shower.

In November 2011, Josey was arrested after peering over a bathroom stall at the annual Fantasy of Trees event in the Knoxville Convention Center on Henley Street and watching a woman use the restroom. In both prior cases, he pleaded guilty and was placed on probation. Court records show his probationary sentence has been revoked.

Knox County Sheriff's Office inmate list shows Josey is being held in jail in lieu of a $10,000 bond.

He is to be arraigned Tuesday in Knox County Criminal Court before Judge Bob McGee.